1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention deals with the field of firestopping designs particularly and more particularly deals with intumescent firestopping materials which are designed to expand rapidly responsive to fire and heat for the purpose of sealing openings which need to be placed within the walls, ceilings, floors and other construction barriers of conventional residential and/or commercial buildings. It is difficult to provide the correct amount of intumescent material while at the same time allowing retrofitting and refitting of the cables or other penetrating members which must extend through these construction openings. The present invention provides a dynamically adjustable sealing system which defines a throat through which cables can extend and which throat has a confinement area for holding the cables while at the same time facilitating intumescent sealing of the entire opening responsive to a fire and heat condition.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Numerous patents have been designed for the purpose of using intumescent materials for sealing openings in construction barriers such as walls, floors and ceilings such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,835 issued Jan. 6, 1981 to A. Ehrenfels and assigned to Harvey Hubbell, Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cNon-Rigid Mechanical Coupling For A Fire-Rated Feed-Through Fitting And Method Of Makingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,779 issued Apr. 28, 1981 to T. R. Rhodes et al and assigned to General Signal Corporation on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Electrical Fitting With Releasable Wedging Point For Retentionxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,416 issued Jun. 22, 1982 to J. P Goodsell and assigned to Harvey Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cFire-Rated Feed-Through Fitting For Transferring Insulated Wires Through A Concrete Floorxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,199 issued Dec. 14, 1982 to C. S. Kucheria et al and assigned to Kennecott Corporation on a xe2x80x9cFire Resistant Sealing System For Holes In Fire Resistant Building Partitionsxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,920 issued Aug. 30, 1983 to D. D. Logsdon on an xe2x80x9cApparatus For Securing Pipexe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,577 issued Aug. 28, 1984 to R. R. Licht and assigned to Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company on an xe2x80x9cIntumescent Fire Barrier Material Laminated With Restraining Layerxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,694 issued Oct. 16, 1984 to J. E. Kohaut and assigned to John E. Kohaut and Raceway Components, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cThrough-Floor Electrical Outlet Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,486 patented Mar. 3, 1987 to W. Hauff on a xe2x80x9cFlame-Retarding Wall Feedthrough Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Reissue Pat. No. Re.32,678 issued May 31, 1988 to R. D. Benscoter et al and assigned to Butler Manufacturing Company on an xe2x80x9cEconomy Poke-Thruxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,926 issued Jan. 31, 1989 to P. C. Beck and assigned to Adolph Coors Company on a xe2x80x9cFirebreak For Conduitsxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,690 issued Jul. 16, 1991 to M. Bloom and assigned to Masco Building Products Corp. on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Connector Assemblyxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,121,594 issued Jun. 16, 1992 to E. S. Wuertz and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cMethod For Attaching A Poke-Through Electrical Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,054 issued Jul. 21, 1992 to J. Stahl and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on a xe2x80x9cComposition Of Matter For A Fire Retardant Intumescent Material Having Two Stages Of Expansion And A Process For Making Thereofxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,658 issued Aug. 11, 1992 to J. Stahl and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on a xe2x80x9cProcess For Forming A Fire Retardant Intumescent Material Having Two Stages Of Expansionxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,077 issued Dec. 29, 1992 to G. Murota and assigned to The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. on a xe2x80x9cFire Protecting Structure Of Channel Portion Of Plastic Piping In A Fire Partitionxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,131 issued Jun. 15, 1993 to E. S. Wuertz and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Fire Barrier Structure With Knock-Out Openingsxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,128 issued Aug. 17, 1993 to E. S. Wuertz and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on an xe2x80x9cAbove-Floor Service Fitting For Poke-Through Wiring Devicexe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,278 issued Dec. 21, 1993 to E. S. Wuertz and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Wiring Fitting With Flap Cover Assemblyxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,5,393,930 issued Feb. 28, 1995 to E. S. Wuertz and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cSelf-Anchoring Poke-Through Wiring Devicexe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,103 issued Apr. 25, 1995 to E. S. Wuertz and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cSelf-Anchoring Poke-Through Wiring Devicexe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,127 issued Jun. 6, 1995 to S. F. Stefely on a xe2x80x9cFire Stop Closurexe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,551 issued Sep. 26, 1995 to P. J. Charland et al and assigned to Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company on a xe2x80x9cTiered Firestop Assemblyxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,050 issued Oct. 10, 1995 to T. T. Ward and assigned to Construction Consultants and Contractors, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cSystem To Prevent Spread Of Fire And Smoke Through Wall-Breaching Utility Holesxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,565 issued Nov. 21, 1995 to T. Bowman et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cMethod And Apparatus For Improved Activation Of Services In An Office Building Floorxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,202 issued Jan. 14, 1997 to M. A. Tobias on a xe2x80x9cSplit Sleeve Systemxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,940 issued to J. H. Whitehead on Jun. 24, 1997 and assigned to Thomas and Betts Corporation on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Electrical Connection Assembly Retainerxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,891 issued Sep. 2, 1997 to A. J. Miller et al on a xe2x80x9cMethod Of Passing Wires Through A Firewall Using Telescoping Conduit Assemblyxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,696,349 issued Dec. 9, 1997 to J. Bera and assigned to Raceway Components, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cWedge-Lockable Fire-Retardant Poke-Through Service Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,938 issued Mar. 24, 1998 to M. A. Tobias on a xe2x80x9cWall Penetrator Sleeve Systemxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,698 issued Apr. 21, 1998 to D. J. Myronuk et al on a xe2x80x9cFlame Attenuator For Poke-Through Constructionsxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,732 issued May 5, 1998 to J. Bera et al and assigned to Raceway Components, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cFire-Rated Furniture Feed Poke-Through Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,764 issued Sep. 29, 1998 to J. E. Kohaut and assigned to Raceway Components, Inc. on an xe2x80x9cInsert For Poke-Through Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,872 issued Sep. 21, 1999 to G. S. MacMillian et al on a xe2x80x9cFire Barrier Assemblyxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,126 issued Jan. 25, 2000 to N. Castellani et al and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cFlush Poke-Through Wiring Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,623 issued Sep. 5, 2000 to N. Bonilla et al and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Floor Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,915 issued Nov. 7, 2000 to t. Andersen et al on a xe2x80x9cFire Resistant Bushing For Cables, Pipes And Channelsxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,158,180 issued Dec. 12, 2000 to J. R. Edwards and assigned to Office Specialty Inc. on a xe2x80x9cMounting Device For Communications Conduit Connectorxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,078 issued Jan. 16, 2001 to S. S. Bambardekar and assigned to Walker Systems, Inc. on a xe2x80x9cFlush Poke-Through Wiring Fitting Having A Height Adjustable Data Jack Mounting Bracketxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,052 issued Jan. 23, 2001 to J. Takahashi and assigned to Tosetz Co., Ltd. on a xe2x80x9cFire Retarding Division Penetrating Memberxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,882 issued Jan. 30, 2001 to C. T. Dinh and assigned to Thomas and Betts, International on a xe2x80x9cSingle And Dual Cable Seal Systemxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,307,152 issued Oct. 23, 2001 to N. Bonilla et al and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on a xe2x80x9cPoke-Through Floor Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,353,180 issued Mar. 5, 2002 to J. V. DeBartolo, Jr. et al and assigned to Hubbell Incorporated on xe2x80x9cBus Bars For Poke-Through Floor Fittingxe2x80x9d; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,502 issued Mar. 26, 2002 to J. P. Stahl, Jr. and assigned to Specified Technologies Inc. on a xe2x80x9cFirestop Collar Means With Improved Mounting Meansxe2x80x9d; and United States Publication No. U.S. 2002/0032996 A1 published to K. R. Cornwall on Mar. 21, 2002 on a xe2x80x9cCoupling Assembly With Intumescent Materialxe2x80x9d.
The present invention provides an intumescent firestopping apparatus for the purpose of fire sealing of openings in construction barriers such as walls, floors and ceilings which are normally included in the construction barriers in order to allow penetrating members such as wires and cables to extend therethrough. The configuration includes a sleeve which is securable to the construction barrier at a position extending through the opening defined therein for the purpose of defining an access corridor extending completely through the barrier itself. This sleeve preferably will include flat outer sections to facilitate placing of a plurality of sleeve means adjacent to one another thereby facilitating usage of the apparatus of the present invention for sealing of openings in construction barriers which are significantly larger than a single sleeve itself.
The sleeve design of the present invention includes an upper wall member which extends completely through the barrier and a lower wall member which also extends completely through the barrier and is spatially disposed below the upper wall member to facilitate defining of the access corridor in the area therebetween.
A first side wall member will extend completely through the barrier and will extend from the upper wall member downwardly to the lower wall member. Additionally a second side wall member will extend completely through the barrier from the upper wall member downwardly to the lower wall member at a position spatially disposed from the first side wall member to facilitate defining of the access corridor therebetween. This access corridor will allow the placement of penetrating members such as cables therethrough. The sleeve is also preferably of a rectangular shape with the upper wall member and the lower wall member oriented parallel with respect to one another and the first side wall member and the second side wall member parallel with respect to one another and oriented perpendicularly with respect to the upper and lower wall members. An upper tab means will be included extending downwardly from the upper wall member for holding of an intumescent pad therein. Similarly a lower tab will extend upwardly from the lower wall member to facilitate holding of an intumescent pad thereadjacent.
A lower intumescent pad may be included positioned within the access corridor extending at least partially along the lower wall member. This lower intumescent pad will be in abutment with respect to the lower tab to facilitate attachment thereof with respect to the sleeve. The lower intumescent pad preferably will include a lower central pad section. This pad section preferably is of a flexibly resilient material such as to extend upwardly from the lower wall. Furthermore the lower central pad section will define a lower slot configuration which can include a plurality of slots extending longitudinally therein to facilitate the flexible resilience thereof.
An upper intumescent pad is also defined extending at least partially along the upper wall member. The upper intumescent pad preferably includes an upper central pad section which is flexibly resilient and extends downwardly from the upper wall toward the lower central pad section of the lower intumescent pad therebelow in such a manner as to define a confinement area therebetween. This confinement area is for the purpose of holding cables or other penetrating members extending therethrough by exerting a force thereon. In this manner the present invention will define a dynamically adjustable sealing throat for receiving and retaining said cables which is cable of use with many different cable sizes and can be used with various numbers of cables as well as being capable of retrofitting for changes in the number or size of such cables.
The upper central pad section preferably also defines an upper slot extending longitudinally therein for the purpose of facilitating flexible resilience of the upper central pad section. This upper intumescent pad will be in abutment with respect to the upper tab in order to facilitate attachment thereof with respect to the sleeve. The upper intumescent pad and the lower intumescent pad will preferably have sufficient intumescent expansion capability to seal the entire cross-sectional area of the access corridor responsive to a fire or heat condition.
The present invention preferably will also include a first upper restraining support positioned extending laterally from the first side wall member and the second side wall member. Also included preferably will be a second upper restraining support positioned laterally from the first side wall member and the second side wall member at a position spatially disposed from the first upper restraining support. The first upper restraining support and the second upper restraining support will both be spaced away from the upper wall member in order to define an upper restraining space therebetween to retain the upper intumescent pad therewithin. In one preferred configuration, the restraining supports will comprise tabs of the material, preferably a metal, of the sleeve itself punched out on three sides and projecting inwardly to provide supporting plates to facilitate holding of the pads in place. The upper central pad section of the upper intumescent pad is preferably positioned between the first upper restraining support and the second upper restraining support to facilitate extending downwardly therebetween toward the lower intumescent pad positioned therebelow.
A first lower restraining support may also be included positioned extending laterally from the first side wall member and the second side wall member. Additionally a second lower restraining support may also be included positioned extending laterally from the first and second side wall members at a position spatially disposed from the first lower restraining support. In this manner the first and second lower restraining supports will both be spaced away from the lower wall member thereadjacent in order to define a lower restraining space therebetween to retain the lower intumescent pad therein. The lower central pad section of the lower intumescent pad is preferably positioned between the first lower restraining support and the second lower restraining support in order to facilitate extending upwardly therebetween toward the upper intumescent pad positioned thereabove which is made possible by the flexible resilience of the central pad section of the lower intumescent pad.
The present invention may also include an upper biasing means such as an upper flat spring which can be positioned between the first upper restraining support and the second upper restraining support and also positioned between the upper wall member and the upper intumescent pad for the purpose of exerting downwardly directed bias against the upper intumescent pad to facilitate engagement thereof with respect to the penetrating members extending through the opening for enhancing retaining thereof. In a similar manner a lower biasing means such as a lower flat spring can be included positioned between the first lower restraining support and the second lower restraining support and also positioned between the lower wall member and the lower intumescent pad in order to exert upwardly directed bias against the lower intumescent pad to facilitate engagement thereof with respect to the penetrating members extending through the opening for enhancing retaining thereof.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention to selectively seal a wall, ceiling or floor construction opening responsive to fire and/or heat to prevent fire transfer therethrough and smoke traveling therethrough.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which defines a dynamically adjustable sealing throat for receiving penetrating cables extending through a construction barrier opening.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which includes two intumescent pads at least one of which is flexible resilient and is positioned adjacent to the other pad to define therebetween a confinement area for holding cables extending through construction barrier openings.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which can include two intumescent pads both of which are flexibly resilient and extend toward one another to define a throat for dynamically adjustably receiving of cables therethrough and facilitating sealing thereof responsive to the presence of heat and/or smoke.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which provides a sleeve-like portal for receiving cables and other electrical lines extending therethrough while effectively sealing same responsive to the presence of heat or fire in the adjacent area.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which can be retrofitted with a different number of cables or cables of different sizes or other penetrating members while still maintaining full intumescent sealing capabilities.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which can be effectively used for both vertical barriers such as walls and horizontal barriers such as ceilings and floors.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which can be stacked as needed to fill large construction portals.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which may include intumescent foam pads which have slits defined in the central portion thereof in order to facilitate flexible resilience thereof.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which can be usable with intumescent foam pads wherein the foam may comprise polyurethane, silicone or any other polymer capable of being formed into a soft resilient foam.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which utilizes intumescent materials such as graphite, sodium silicate or other commonly used expansion ingredient components in the intumescent pads themselves.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which include firestopping materials which occupy their own space within the portal and do not displace cables.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which allows the amount of firestopping material to remain in a constant state and are not removed nor displaced from the sleeve when retrofitted by adding or removal of cables.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which include a sufficient amount of intumescent capability sufficient to seal the sleeve when it is empty or filled to capacity or filled to any intermediate level therebetween.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which is permanent and designed to permit the installation or removal of cables or other similar penetrating members without requiring removal or re-installing of the firestopping components.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which provides a smoke seal capable of sealing off most of the opening without requiring manual installation nor manipulation of the seal whatsoever.
It is an object of the intumescent firestopping apparatus of the present invention which provides intumescent activity both below and above the penetrating cables such that a cable bundle cannot be displaced due to downward movement thereof from the weight of the cables.